Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat on Wednesday demanded that the UPA government bring a good Food Security Bill for the benefit of all sections of people in the country.

The UPA government had failed to bring the Food Security Bill though the Left parties were demanding it since several years, Ms. Karat said addressing party workers at a dharna organised by the CPI(M) district committee in front of the Collector’s office here demanding food security.

Though President Pratibha Patil had announced to bring the Food Security Bill within 100 days in her address to the joint parliamentary session three years back, she claimed that the UPA government had not taken any measure to implement it “due to lack of commitment”.

Even after 65 years of Independence, the Congress and successive governments had not taken any steps to eliminate poverty in the country, she alleged.

Though the country had enough food grains, the poor people were not getting it, she said, adding that eight out of ten women were suffering from anaemia due to lack of nutritious food.

“This is a crime on the part of the UPA government for not taking proper action in providing enough food for the people,” she asserted.

Stating eight lakh crore tonnes of food grains were stocked in godowns and 66 lakh tonnes was lying outside the store houses, she claimed the UPA Government had decided to export it to other countries for cattle and dogs instead of supplying it to the poor people.

She also alleged that agriculture land was being taken by the government from farmers and given to multinational companies in the name of special economic zones.

The Left parties would organise a five-day demonstration in front of the Parliament in New Delhi from July 30 to August 3 to demand proper food security for the people in the country, she said.

Brinda Karat is making baseless allegations. 80% women in India are not aneamic. Poverty has materially come down since Independence. Our politicians resort to blatant lies to horrify the Indian public, and our national dailies publish them without verifying the facts.